Maintaining The Balance
by alphakkc
Summary: A diabolical plan lands Sara Pezzini on Sanctuary. Will the balance of good and evil tip towards the demons of the Burning Hells or the angels of the High Heavens? This is the second story arc continuing the adventures of the Wizard Cassie and Demon Hunter Ginny started in "No Light Without Darkness"
1. The Lull Before the Storm

Ginny quickly waded into the water of the hot spring. She headed straight towards her favorite spot, a rocky part of the small pool where she could sit on the smooth rocks under the water and immerse herself up to her neck while resting her back on the rocks that form the bank. Once seated there, one would find oneself in a semi-reclining position and enjoy the heated water that flows calmly around you.

She rested her head on the rocks and looked up towards the sky. It was blue and clear with a few clouds dotting it. Beautiful. Just a perfect day for a dip and to relax in the hot pool. The spring emerged in front of a rock face that covers about 3 sides of the pool and towers up about 50 feet with trees lining the whole area. It was quite secluded and Ginny suspected that apart from her and Cassie, no one from the nearby town Bronvale knows about it. No one has ever mentioned the hot spring and it was not suprising as the water from the pool disappeared underground again just a short distance from where Ginny was sitting. You would also have to venture quite some distance into a rainforest to get to it.

As Ginny sat there relaxing, she found herself absent mindedly running her left index finger up and down a scar in between her breasts. The scar caused by Radvorris trying to sacrifice her to unleash Mephisto close to 5 months back. Ginny sighed. She was still not back to her full strength yet. She estimated that she has regained around 85% of her strength from before.

Torrhan, the healer in Bronvale had told her that she was extremely lucky. That stab would have killed any other person immediately. Ginny would have perished too had not it been for the fact that Ginny's heart was located slightly more off center than most people. This caused the blade to completely miss her heart. It was also another stroke of miracle that the blade missed all of Ginny's vital arteries surrounding her heart as well as her lungs. Nevertheless, Ginny had lost a lot of blood. She had nearly bled to death. Had it not been Cassie who used up all of her strength to teleport them, Ginny would never have made it.

Since she had regained consciousness, she had been recuperating in Bronvale. Cassie had been at her side all this time too, fussing about her. Ginny smiled at the thought. Cassie has been like a nagging mother while she recovered. She complained when Ginny did finish her vegetables and complained when she got out of bed to stretch saying that she should not be moving about. It had annoyed her at the time but looking back, she was glad Cassie was there. With Cassie around, Ginny felt safe. She felt that she could be off her guard and just concentrated on getting better.

It had only been about 2 months since Ginny was well enough to come out and start to physically re-train her body. It was around that time too that they had found this hot spring during one of their hikes in the forest. After that, they have frequented the place quite a lot. Sometimes together and sometimes alone. It was also due to this fact that Ginny now sported a light tan. Her pale skin now had a slight bronzed look to it. It also reminded Ginny that she had yet to replace her armor lost in that infernal tower. She remembered when she had to borrow one of Cassie's robe to go out and buy herself some clothes. The robes barely fit Ginny. Cassie had remarked that Ginny's breasts looked like they were about to burst out at any time in her robes and wondered aloud how a demon hunter can be so well endowed when they are supposed to be running around chasing after demons. It was only at that time that Ginny realized that her bosom were much larger than Cassie's. She also noticed that although Cassie was less well endowed, she was curvaceous and petite. Ginny was especially jealous of Cassie's long, slim legs that looked marvelous.

Ginny's reminiscing was interrupted by the appearance of those very legs she was thinking about. She watched as the pair of legs disappeared into the hot water beside her.

"Not doing any training today, huh?" Cassie remarked as she slowly sat down in the water just next to Ginny. "Ooohh... these waters are just perfect!" she continued.

"Nah," Ginny replied nonchalantly. "I was thinking to just take the day off."

"If you keep taking days off, you'll never regain your fitness," Cassie remarked.

"Blame it on this hot spring then," Ginny replied. "I've never found any other that's as comfortable and as relaxing as this one."

"Why don't you just admit that you're lazy?" Cassie teased.

"Speak for yourself! You're getting flabby too!" Ginny retorted and grabbed at Cassie's waist and pinched playfully. While her hands were there, Ginny felt the scar on the left side of Cassie's waist, courtesy of Radvorris too.

"I am not!" Cassie denied and quickly pushed Ginny's hands away. She then scooped up some water and threw it at Ginny's face.

"Hey! No fair!" Ginny protested and started to splash water back at Cassie and the two women started to play in the water like 2 carefree children.


	2. Tempting Fate

Ginny tried on her new hood. It fit nicely. She had finally come around to completing her task of re-acquiring her armor that she lost in the ruined Tower of Light previously.

"I'm not sure about this," Ginny said after checking herself out in the mirror.

"Oh, don't be silly. It looks great on you!" Cassie chirped enthusiastically.

Ginny took another look at her reflection in the mirror. It was quite a change. Her hood is now white. Her chest piece is a dull silver. Her pants are grey as are her boots but her bracers and shoulder pieces have shiny golden or silver highlights. It's quite a contrast to her old armor that is mainly black or dark grey.

"I dunno," Ginny fretted still. "How am I supposed to hide with all these shiny things on me?" she reasoned.

"Will you just stop fretting?" Cassie said. "We've already proved that your shadow abilities will hide you no matter what colour your clothes are, remember?" she countered cheerfully.

Ginny gave up with a sigh. Cassie was right. They did prove that no matter what colours she was wearing, Ginny's shadow abilities will conceal her. Cassie's cheeky and carefree attitude was really rubbing off on her. She noticed that Cassie's robes were always colourful. It's either bright yellow or orange or a light shade of green and often times she would have multiple colours on her clothes.

"Now," Cassie said. "How do they feel?"

"Feels about right," Ginny replied. "They are lighter than my old set but I guess that's a good thing."

"Then it's settled!" Cassie chirped. "We'll buy this set!" Before Ginny could protest, she was already handing over the gold to the blacksmith.

They walked out of the blacksmith's and into the normal hustle and bustle of Bronvale's daily activities. The baker is trying to sell his freshly baked loaves. The farmers peddling their produce and the people milling about doing their daily tasks. Bronvale was a small town but it had all the necessities. A blacksmith, a weapon maker, 3 taverns and a healer cum apothecarist.

"No news yet on your next mission?" Cassie asked as they made their way back to the tavern where they are currently lodged.

"No," Ginny replied. "It has been strangely quiet," she remarked. "Not much demonic activities anywhere in fact."

"And that's not a good thing?" Cassie asked picking up on Ginny's unease.

"I'm not sure," Ginny said. "Usually when this kind of calmness is witnessed, there will be hell to pay later on."

Meanwhile in New York City on Earth...

Detective Sara Pezzini unlocked her door to her apartment and went inside. She locked the door behind her and put her grocery bags on the table. Sara pushed a stray strand of her long brown hair behind her ears to tuck it away and then turned her attention to the baby sitter.

"Hello Mrs. Gomez," Sara said apolegetically to the middle aged Hispanic woman. "I'm sorry I was late but work is hell!"

Mrs. Gomez just stood there indifferently. Sara quickly reached into her wallet and pulled out a bunch of notes. She made sure she included another twenty dollars in there to compensate for her being late.

"Here you go and sorry for making you wait," Sara said handing over the money. "How's Hope tonight?"

"She's sleeping in the room," Mrs. Gomez replied, putting on her coat to leave.

Sara watched Mrs. Gomez leave and close the door behind her. She then quietly opened the door to Hope's room and went in. She went to the baby cot and peered in. Hope was sleeping peacefully and nicely tucked in. Mrs. Gomez may not like to talk much but she always made sure that Hope was warm and comfortable.

Sara smiled at her sleeping 6 months old daughter and then went to take a shower. She took off her clothes and piled them into her laundry basket. She made sure she put away her badge and gun before stepping inside the shower. Despite having given birth just half a year earlier, Sara was still very much in shape. She could put a lot of younger women to shame with her curves. She let the hot water just run over for a while before proceeding to shower proper. Despite being naked, Sara's right wrist had an ornate bracelet. It looked just like a normal piece of jewellery with a red and blue gem set into it but this bracelet is not jewellery. It was in fact the Witchblade. A weapon of great power and the offspring of the primal forces of Darkness and Light. Sara Pezzini is the current wielder.

After her shower, Sara put on an old T-shirt, shorts, dried her hair and went straight to bed. She had not been sleeping wrong when she was suddenly awakened. The Witchblade was re-acting. The bracelet had now turned into an organic-metallic gauntlet with claws. Sara felt uneasy. She jumped out of bed and opened the door to her living room. To her horror, Sara saw light spilling from the crack between the floor and Hope's room door. She raced to Hope room and threw the door open. Inside was an open portal that was closing and Hope was nowhere to be seen. Without hesistating Sara threw herself into the closing portal. The room was plunged back into darkness as the portal closed, leaving the apartment empty.

At about the same time, the Archangel of Fate Itherael jolted. He felt a great disturbance in the streams of Fate in Sanctuary. He had not felt this way before. Not even when Diablo last rampaged through the town of old Tristram had the disturbance been so great. Itherael quickly used his powers to peer into the streams of Fate to find out what had gone wrong.


	3. Balance On Sanctuary

As Sara jumped through the portal, it closed behind her. She rolled to break her fall and then realized that she was now in some country side. There were trees and grass and a dirt road not far from where she was. The strangest thing was that it was now daytime when she clearly remembered that it was in the middle of the night when she burst into Hope's room.

Sara frantically searched the area around her. She could not see anyone around. Frantic she followed the dirt road. Not far from where she landed, Sara saw a small house by the roadside. Seated on an old wooden chair just outside the door was an old lady. She was dressed in some medieval garbs. Although this seemed strange to Sara, she went up to the lady.

"Excuse me but did you see anyone carrying a baby coming through here?" Sara asked the old lady.

The lady gave her a look over and said, "Eh? What's that?" while turning her head sideways so one of her ears was pointed more towards Sara.

"I said did you see anyone carrying a baby coming through here?" Sara repeated a little louder and getting impatient.

"Baby? Why yes," the old lady replied to Sara's relief. "Someone went by here just a moment ago with a crying baby." She then pointed up the road. "Went that way. Probably to the old church at the end of the road."

"Thank you!" Sara said hastily and ran off in the direction pointed out.

As soon as Sara was out of sight, the old lady transformed into a succubus, gave a sinister laugh and flew off. Sara ran with all her might and soon saw the church coming into sight. The two story building was old and crumbling but looks to be still in use. She ran to the doors and went inside. Once she was in, she heard the sound of a baby crying.

"Hope!" she cried out. The crying was coming from the upper floor. "Hang on! Mamma's coming!" she said and rushed up the stairs. As Sara came to the landing of the second floor, she saw Hope in a room at the far end. What was even more surprising was that it looked like an angel was carrying her.

"An Angelus warrior?" Sara thought puzzled but this angel looked way different than the Angelus warriors that Sara was used to encountering. Though the angel was wearing armor, the armor looked more like a medieval's knight's armor rather than the organic-metallic armor similar to that of the Witchblade. Another difference was that this angel sported wings that looked like tendrils of energy instead of feathers and it had a hood on his head and Sara could not make out any face inside the hood. A spiked metal halo was floating on top of this angel's head.

"Release the baby and give her back to me!" Sara demanded as she ran towards the room. The angel turned to face Sara on hearing her desperate plea. He laughed and promptly vanished in a trail of light shooting upwards and out of the open window taking Hope with him.

"No!" Sara cried, tears streaming down her face as she rushed into the now empty room. She sank to her knees and could no longer contain her tears. After crying for a few minutes, Sara heard a voice calling out to her.

"Are you alright?" a child's voice asked.

Sara turned to face the voice to find a boy of around 12 standing in the doorway. She still could stop her tears.

"Are you looking for the Archangel Imperius?" the child asked again moving to the edge of the doorframe and hiding himself partly behind it.

"Imperius?" Sara asked. "Was that angel called Imperius?"

"Yes..," the child answered hesistantly.

"Do you know where he went?" Sara asked trying not to get her hopes up.

"To the High Heavens.. where all the archangels stay," the child answered.

Sara's heart sank at the comment. "And do you know where that is?" she asked desperately.

"No..." came the reply. Sara sank her face into her hands. "But the priest knows," the child continued and Sara lifted her face again to see the child. "He will be here tomorrow. Maybe you can ask him then," the child said. "You can stay here until he comes, if you like."

"Thank you boy," Sara said with tear drops still dropping from her eyes only that it was now tears of hope instead of despair.

"I'm going home now," the child said. Sara merely nodded as the child walked away. For now Sara could do nothing but wait. Sara did not see that the child, like the old lady, transformed once he was out of sight. The child transformed into Belial, the Lord of Lies and disappeared into a dark cloud with an evi, smirk on his lips.

"Just as I thought," Ginny said as she finished reading the message from the demon hunter's council.

"What's the matter?" Cassie asked.

"There's trouble," Ginny replied. "A large number of demons have been sighted coming out from the crater of Mount Arreat. It looks like they are mobilizing an army!"

"What?! An army? Are you serious?" Cassie asked incredulously.

"We are moving out to Bastion Keep to join the other members of my order tomorrow," Ginny said tersely. "Start packing."

Just as they started to pack, a vision appeared before them.

"Itherael?" Cassie gasped as she recognized the apparition floating in front of them. "What are you doing here?"

"Demon hunter," Itherael spoke. "Go forth to the ruins of the ancient city of Viz-jun. I need you scout that area out for me."

"Viz-jun? But the demons are at Mt. Arreat," Ginny protested.

"I know. I have dispatched the Archangel Tyrael there to assist your brethren. I sense a great disturbance in the streams of Fate and I have yet to determine the cause of it. It seems that the fate of Sanctuary is unravelling and I sense an object of immense and strange power in Viz-jun. I need you there to help me find it. It may be the key to solving this mystery. The very existance of Sanctuary may depend on it, " Itherael explained.

"Why me?" Ginny asked.

"Because you and your friend are the nearest to Viz-jun," Itherael said.

"Fine," Ginny said.

"I shall contact you again when you have reached Viz-jun," Itherael said and the apparition disappeared.

"Are we really going to Viz-jun?" Cassie asked, not entirely sure what to make of the strange event she had just witnessed.

"Yes," Ginny replied as she went back to packing her stuff. "It's not everyday that one gets a mission directly from an archangel."

"I'm not so sure if that is a good thing," Cassie said.


	4. Hope Diminishes

Cassie shot a freeze ray towards an advancing Copper Fang Lurker and the snake-like demon with a female upper torso froze instantly. A crossbow bolt whistled past Cassie's ear and struck the frozen demon and ricocheted of the target and deflected itself into the eye of another Copper Fang Lurker to the right. Both demons were dead before their bodies hit the ground.

"That's the last of them," Cassie said. Ginny walked to Cassie's side from behind her, keeping a wary eye out for any of the demons that may be playing dead and waiting to strike. She found none alive.

"Well, onwards then," Ginny said. They have been making their way through the bowels of the earth for the better part of 2 hours since they descended from the basement of the ruins. The caverns had snaked and twisted its way down ever deeper, often opening up into large cavities and alcoves along the way. They have encountered quite a number of vicious beasts and demons but none that they could not handle.

"How are we supposed to find something when we don't even know what we are looking for?" Cassie asked as they ventured on.

"I guess we will know when we see it," Ginny said. "Keep your eyes open."

After a while the path they were on began to start leveling instead of dipping downwards in an incline. They then walked into a huge cavity and inside that was a whole crypt like building carved right out of the rocks. Both Cassie and Ginny stopped at the sight. Something tells them that they have arrived at their destination.

Before they could advance towards the crypt, a giggle echoed from the darkness, "Welcome to the domain of Mirryea," the sinister sounding voice said. "Just in time for dinner!" the voice taunted.

"Show yourself!" Ginny demanded as Cassie increased the light coming from her magical source.

The light expanded and showed that the cavern was bigger than they had first thought. The ceiling was some 20 feet above them, dotted with stalagmites of various sizes. Besides that, it was lined with some kind of webbing.

"It's a spider demon!" Cassie said and saw a shadow flitting across the edges of the light cast by her magical source. Just as she said that she saw some kind of liquid being shot at her. Cassie realized too late that it was the spider demon's webbing. The webbing pooled around Cassie and hindered her movements. Sensing danger Cassie cast her diamond skin spell and encased herself in a crystal armor. She was just in time as the spider demon swung down and slashed at her with her claws which knocked Cassie off her feet.

Seeing Cassie knocked down, Ginny quickly fired a volley of bolts at the demon which quickly retreated back into the shadows. Ginny ran to Cassie's side and helped her up. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Cassie replied. Just as she got to her feet she noticed another attack coming. "Watch out!" Cassie said and pushed Ginny away as she jumped the opposite direction. A stream of caustic poison shot past the space where they were standing just a second ago.

"Damn!" Ginny said as she rolled to break her fall and quickly got back on her feet. "We can't see her while she's lurking above us! Do you have any tricks to get more light up there?"

"Sure have!" Cassie said and threw her magical source up in the air. She chanted a spell and the globe was suspended there near the ceiling and began to glow fiercely. Blue light began to flood the cavern.

"There!" Ginny said and quickly unleashed a volley of shots at the demon. A shrill scream was heard as the demon took a shot and ran into a hole in the ceiling for cover. Ginny was surprised at how many holes and cracks there were in the cavern. "Cassie! Keep an eye out for those openings and holes! They may be interconnected and she may come out of any one of them!"

Ginny's observation was correct but instead of the demon appearing, scores of spiders as large as cats began pouring out of most of those openings. "Crap!" Ginny shouted and began shooting bolts with the lightning rune. As the shoot hit the rock surface, electricity spread from the arrow head and electrified a small area around it. Anything caught in it will be electrocuted.

Cassie quickly invoked a blizzard spell. Razor sharp icicles rained down upon the spiders and impaled any that caught in the magical storm. As the spiders' numbers was getting cut down, the demon re-emerged and struck. She swung down from of the holes and grabbed Ginny from behind. The impact knocked Ginny's crossbow out from her hands.

"Ginny!" Cassie called out. She fired several arcane bolts at the retreating demon that was carrying Ginny up towards another hole in the ceiling but missed. Ginny quickly drew out a dagger and shot it out with all her strength. The blade embedded itself into the spider demon's abdomen and exited through its back. The demon let out another shriek and released Ginny. As both of them fell, Ginny fired another 2 daggers at the demon. Both blades penetrated the demon and it crashed onto the ground dead. Ginny quickly rolled as she hit the ground to break her fall and got back on her feet. Cassie ran towards Ginny's side and they both let out a breath of relief to find the demon finally dead.

The two women walked towards the crypt and entered it. Locked within one of the rooms inside the crypt, they found what they were looking for.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Cassie said as they saw the object. It defied all their expectations of what it would be.

As Sara soared over the Silver City, she was sure that she was no longer in New York city. The majestic towers that rose had a totally different architectural design and also everything was clean and sparkly. Buildings and walkways all gleamed and gold or silver trimmings were everywhere. She did not know why Hope was brought here but she's determined to find her and get her back. Sara remembered that the priest had told her that Imperius would most likely be in the Halls of Valor. Problem is Sara did not know where the Halls of Valor are. Before she could dwell on that problem any longer Sara saw a group of angels flying towards her.

"Halt! Who goes there? Why are you here in the High Heavens!" the leader of the group demanded as they came within earshot. There were six of them.

"I am looking for Imperius!" Sara said. "You do not need to concern yourself about who I am!" Sara noticed that all the angels are armed. They carried either a sword or a spear and like Imperius, they too have wings that are more like energy tendrils. They definitely are not the Angelus warriors she's familiar with.

"What insolence!" the lead angel said. "Leave immediately or we shall be forced to take action!"

"I have no quarrel with you!" Sara replied. "Just tell Imperius to return what he has taken and I shall leave willingly!"

"Leave now or face the consequences!" the lead angel warned again.

"I do not wish to fight you but I will if I must!" Sara said. She noticed that she cannot see any of the angel's faces. They were all hooded in one way or another and inside those hoods were just a black void and no faces can be seen.

"Know that you ignore our warning at your own peril!" the lead angel said. "Get her and throw her out of the High Heavens!" the angel ordered.

Immediately 2 of the angels broke from the main group and flew towards Sara with spears extended. Sara dodged the first pass and formed a blade on her right hand. The 2 angels came around and charged at her again. When they came close they struck with their spears. Sara dodged one of them and parried the other with her blade. She then kicked out hard with her right leg and sent one of the angels crashing to the ground below. The angels were taken aback by the force displayed by Sara.

"Get her!" the lead angel shouted again and this time all of the angels swarmed at her. Sara tried to dodge and block their attacks but one of their hits connected and she found herself falling to the ground. Quickly turning in the air, Sara righted herself and managed to land. She decided that it would be more advantageous to remain on the ground and started running through the streets. The angels gave pursuit. Seeing a couple of them in the air behind her, Sara quickly turned a corner. While she was out of the angel's sight, Sara quickly scaled the building's wall and waited for the angels to fly past. She then launched herself onto the nearest one and kicked hard. The angel smashed into the wall and fell to the streets below. Sara then took advantage of the confusion to get close to the other angel. Before the angel to react, Sara was already right in front of it. Sara punched the angel hard right in the face and it too went down.

Having knocked down two of her pursuers, Sara landed again and continued to run in a zig-zag pattern through the streets. As she turned at a junction she heard the lead angel shouting.

"Keep her away from the Halls of Valor!" the command echoed through the street. Sara looked at the building in front of her.

"So, this is the Halls of Valor!" Sara thought to herself and headed straight towards it. The front doors were closed. Sara held out her right palm and aimed it at the door. A beam of energy shot from her palm and blew the doors wide open. Sara found herself inside a large circular lobby. On a landing on the second floor was the angel she was looking for.

"Imperius!" Sara shouted. "Return what you have taken from me!"

The pursuing angels arrived and effectively blocked Sara's exit from the building. "Sir! We're sorry for our incompetence, but we will deal with the intruder and take her away!" the lead angel said.

Imperius raised his hands and waved them away. "No. Leave her to me," Imperius said.

Sara turned her attention to Imperius as the other angels began to stand down.

"You are a Nephalem," Imperius said to Sara. "But you are different," he mused.

"Return Hope to me!" Sara demanded.

"Do you not know it is a sacrilege for you to set foot in the High Heavens?" Imperius shouted, ignoring Sara.

Sara lost all patience and charged at Imperius. In a flash she was already in front of Imperius and was bringing her blade down fast. Imperius barely had time to summon his spear to parry the blow. The force of Sara's blow was so great that it forced Imperius onto one of his knees. Imperius quickly lashed out with his other leg in an attempt to sweep Sara off her feet. Sara saw that attack and vaulted backward and landed about 10 feet away. Imperius pointed his spear at Sara and a tongue of flame shot out. Sara raised both her arms in front of her and formed a shield with the Witchblade. As the fire stopped, she felt a hard kick that knocked her back another few feet. As she dropped her hands, she saw that Imperius had jumped up in front and above her and is about to swing his spear down hard on her. She quickly side stepped and the spear crash and broke the marble flooring on the spot where she was. Sara hit back with a punch that caught Imperius on his left cheek and sent him crashing onto the wall behind him. Imperius got up and continued to trade blows with Sara.

Meawhile, in the Library of Fate.

Itherael felt uneasy. The source of his unease felt very close. It was so close that he felt that the disturbance was right in the High Heavens itself. Before he could open the tomes of Fate for the High Heavens, a vision appeared in front him. It was the demon hunter and her friend the wizard. They were using the Seeing Stone that he had given them so that they could contact him when the need arose.

"Itherael," Ginny's vision said. "We've found your object but we do not think that it's all that powerful."

"What do you mean, demon hunter?" Itherael asked puzzled.

"Well, to be honest we are not sure if this is what you were looking for, but there's no other object of interest in here," Ginny continued. "You might as well take a look."

The vision then changed and Itherael saw the object. Indeed it was the object of power that he was looking for but the form in which the object was strange even for Itherael.

"Well done, demon hunter," Itherael said. "Indeed that is the object I am looking for but its form is not what I was expecting. I will now open a portal to your location. Please bring it straight to me," Itherael ordered.

Imperius was still trading blows with Sara in the Halls of Valor, each seemingly unable to get the upper hand but the battle is reducing much of the halls into ruins. Auriel, the archangel of Hope decided to drop by as word got about that the stranger in the high heavens is asking for Hope.

When Auriel stepped into the Halls of Valor, the battle between the two was still raging ferociously.

"Stop nephalem!" Auriel said in a commanding voice. "I am the Hope you are seeking. Stop this destruction and madness now!"

Sara took one look at Auriel and let out a scream of fury.

"I do not know what joke you are all trying to pull, but this will not end well for you!" Sara yelled and leapt at Auriel.

Auriel was shocked at how fast Sara could move. Before she could even react, Sara was right in front of her and landed a punch on her shoulders. Apart from the incredible force Auriel also felt something sharp penetrating her. It was a sharpened claw that Sara had just formed at the end of her fist. It went clear through the armor of the archangel of Hope. Auriel fell to her knees.

"No!" Imperius called out as he saw Sara impaling Auriel. He dashed towards Sara's back, spear primed to strike.

Sara felt Imperius coming at her and ducked the spear aimed at her head. As the bladed part of the spear whooshed past, Sara spun on her heels and unleashed an uppercut that caught Imperius right in the stomach. A burst of light flashed as Sara's claw burst through the back of Imperius armor.

Meanwhile on Sanctuary, the skies darkened and lightning flashed across the thick dark ominous clouds that appeared suddenly. Sunlight faded and all of the people on Sanctuary felt despair. All but the bravest of the soldiers in Bastion Keep dropped their weapons as the lightning flashed and the thunder rumbled. It was as if hope and valor were abruptly extinguished from their souls.

Down in the core of the Arreat's crater, Azmodan laughed maniacally at turn of events.

"Our plan has succeeded beyond our expectations!" Azmodan said to Belial. "Both Imperius' and Auriel's flame has been snuffed out. You are wise to bring this Balance from this Earth. She is truly a power to reckon with!"

"Yes, victory is close at hand," Belial agreed. "Now is the time we unleash the armies of the Burning Hells onto Sanctuary and claim what is rightfully ours!"


	5. Balance In The High Heavens

*** Author's note ***

Here's the continuation of the story. Sorry to those of you that have waited so long. The story is finally finished and will be posted up completely!

Thank you for reading!

*** end of author's note ***

"Wow! So this is what the High Heavens look like," Cassie said as she stepped out of the portal and into the Library of Fate. "Everything is so shiny and... clean!"

"Bring me the object," Itherael requested as soon as the duo stepped through the portal. Cassie promptly handed over the baby she was holding. The baby was on the verge of crying and Cassie is relieved to have it taken from her hands.

"Ahh.. yes," Itherael said as he cradled the baby in his arms. "This nephalem child holds great powers but she does not belong here..." Itherael stopped suddenly as he felt a tremor and a sudden pang of despair running through his soul.

"What was that?" Ginny said, feeling the same thing.

"Woe is upon us!" Itherael said. "Quickly now, follow me!" he continued and hurried outside.

A short while later, the trio stepped into the broken Halls of Valor to see Sara throwing a limp Imperius to the floor. She then turned towards a badly injured Auriel and raised her bladed right hand up high. They were horrified to see the carnage in the halls. Fallen angels were strewn everywhere. Debris littered the area.

"Tell me where Hope is or suffer the consequences!" Sara yelled barely able to contain her rage. "I will tear this place apart if I have to!"

"I do not know what it is you speak of," Auriel replied weakly. "I am hope.."

"Arrghhh!" Sara yelled and poised to strike. Just as she was about to let the blade fall a woman in a bright coloured robe appeared beside Auriel and a semi-transparent dome enveloped the three of them. As the blade fell, Sara saw the woman acting very quickly. Her moves were almost too fast for her to see. She quickly cradled Auriel in her arms and then both of them disappeared in a flash of light. Sara's bladed hand swiped at empty space where Auriel had been just a fraction of a second ago. As Sara began to search the area for the strange woman and Auriel she saw 3 crossbow bolt rocketing towards her face. Sara quickly lifted her left arm and the Witchblade formed a shield and deflected the bolts. With the danger passed, she dropped her arm and saw the 3 new opponents in the halls. Gritting her teeth she charged towards them.

"Stop!" Itherael called out. "I have what you seek!" he said holding out the baby for Sara to see.

Sara's eyes widened as she saw Hope in this angel's arms. She quickly halted her attack. The blades on her hands retracted and her armor receeded. The full body armor now seemed to recede to form only a gauntlet on Sara's right hand. She quickly took Hope from Itherael and checked the baby.

"Hope! Thank God you're alright!" Sara said hugging the baby tight against her chest and tears welling in her eyes.

Ginny quickly ran to check on Imperius while Cassie tended to Auriel after teleporting her away from harm's way.

"How are they?" Itherael asked.

"Barely breathing but still alive," Ginny said and Cassie echoed the same sentiment about Auriel.

Itherael raised his arms and half a dozen angel appeared and took the wounded Auriel and Imperius away, leaving Cassie, Ginny and Sara alone with him in the runied halls.

"Nephalem," Itherael said to Sara. "Now that we have returned your child to you, would you help us in our time of need?"

"I have no interest in your matters," Sara said, her voice cold but it was apparent that her rage has subsided. "I only wish to go home. I am no longer a threat to you all. Just send us home," Sara continued.

"Therein lies the problem," Itherael said. "It is not us that brought you here. We were all manipulated by the lords of the Burning Hells and I suspect that they were the ones who abducted your child. I also suspect that they are the ones who hold the key to send you home."

"There's always a catch!" Sara sighed. "Fine! What do I need to do."

"We will speak more in my library. Come," Itherael said and led the group out of the halls.

Cassie eyed Sara curiously as they followed Itherael. "You are dressed in very strange clothes," she commented looking at Sara's short sleeved T-shirt and short pants.

"I could say the same about you," Sara replied in a dead pan manner after giving Cassie a quick once-over. "You looked like you've just stepped out of a cosplay event."

"Cosplay?" Cassie said, not understanding the term. "And what happened to your armor? They just sort of disappeared!"

"Never mind," Sara said as they left the halls.


	6. The Shadow Rises

Meanwhile at Bastion Keep.

The darkened skies had upped the unease felt in general by the soldier's manning the Keep and forming the front lines against the demons' attack. For days now the humans and their angel allies have seen the demon army amassing near the base of Arreat's Crater. So far the demons have only been gathering and there were no signs of them moving to attack. Responding in kind, the humans have also bolstered their numbers at the keep. Even the angels have sent their armies under the command of archangel Tyrael. Now with the feeling of despair sweeping over the hearts of men and angels alike the outlook seemed even bleaker.

As if things weren't bad enough a thin wisp started to appear over the crater of the broken mountain. A soldier on the lookout saw the wisp rising out of the crater's mouth. He peered harder into the distance in an attempt to see what it was. The thin wisp grew thicker the further it rose into the skies and by the looks of things it cannot be smoke.

As he strained his eyes, a cold shiver shot down his spine. He suddenly knew what the wisps were.

"Moloks! The demons are taking to the skies!" the soldier sounded the alert as the wisp grew into an ominous black cloud heading their way.

Tyrael rushed to the front lines. The demons are finally starting their assault. They have formed lines and are marching towards them.

"To arms! To arms!" Tyrael commanded. "Ready the archers! Form your lines! Prepare for battle!"

The humans soldiers formed their defense lines. Pikemen at the very front with their pikes thrusted out to meet the enemies. Archers lined themselves behind these pikemen, readying the bow and arrows.

"Raise the catapults!" a command was heard being called out over the nervous troops.

Tyrael watched the oncoming black cloud intently. The mass of flying Moloks casts a huge shadow over the imminent battlefield. It was as if a blanket of doom was about to be thrown over the defending men and angels alike. The flying monstrosities lead the ground army and they are closing in fast.

"My angel brethren! Rise now! Turn back this demon horde!" Tyrael commanded and took off. The angels under his command, followed suit a second later.

From a watch tower back at the Keep, it looked like a single streak of light shooting skywards followed by a whole line of lights behind it as the angels rose to meet the Moloks. The bright line closed in on the approaching shadow and the 2 lines joined into a blur. Down on the ground the demon troops also closed in.

As the 2 armies came closer and closer a thumping sound can be heard across the top of the Keep. The catapults have unleashed their fiery payload. The huge burning barrels of oil shot out towards the demon's ranks like deadly crashing comets. Cluster of fire burst onto the battlefield where ever they landed. After the initial fiery payload, the catapults sent out the conventional payloads of rocks and boulders. The gap between the 2 large armies disappeared.

The battle for Sanctuary has begun in earnest.

As the battle raged on above the ground near Bastion Keep, another smaller battle raged on underground ver near to Arreat's Crater's core. A trio of female warriors fought their way through a wave of demons. A wizard, a demon hunter and woman with an artifact called the Witchblade from Earth.

Cassie fired a blast of freeze ray from her hand at the advancing demons. It froze them solid and a crossbow bolt shot past her to hit the frozen mob and shattered them. Cassie quickly turned her attention to an advancing party of succubus. The succubi fired a barrage of deadly energy balls at her and she had to jump to one side to dodge. As she tried to regain her footing, she saw that one of them had swooped down towards her and was about to slash into her with its razor sharp claws.

Cassie desperately tried to conjure up her diamond skin spell to ward the blow but she realized to her dismay that she would not be able to complete her incantations before the claw connect. As she shut her eyes in anticipation of the blow, she heard a grunt and the blow never landed. Cassie opened her eyes and saw that Sara had grabbed that succubus and threw her aside. As the winged female demon hit the wall of the cavern, Sara unleashed a shot of energy from her hand and the succubus disintegrated.

Ginny used the time to dispatch the rest of the succubi with a spray of bolts from her rapidly firing crossbows. The cavern finally fell silent as all the demon were defeated.

"I thought the place would not be well guarded," Cassie said, picking herself up from the ground. "Didn't Itherael said Belial and Azmodan will be sending their troops in an all out attack against Bastion Keep? Why are there so many more demons here?"

"You think that they will leave their command posts unguarded?" Sara replied. "Scumbags like them will always have their bodyguards around. They are cowards and will always have lackeys protecting their asses!"

"Scumbags?" Cassie asked unfamiliar with that term.

"Let's just go," Ginny said. "The sooner we find the portal to Earth, the better. And I'll bet that we will find the place crawling with demons! Which way?" Ginny asked, looking at Sara.

Sara paused for a while as she and the witchblade tried to locate the energy signature from the portal. Itherael had said that since the portal to earth links Sanctuary to another realm, it will likely give off an energy signature from Earth. He was right. Sara could detect an energy wavelength that matches the one from the Witchblade. They had travelled deep into the crater of Arreat.

"This way!" Sara said after determining the location and the trio quickly moved towards the indicated tunnel.

Sensing the absence of valor and hope, the lords of the Burning Hells had unleashed the bulk of their armies against the defenders. Time is running short.


	7. The Trap

Tyrael slashed with his sword and another Molok fell to its death. He had only been in battle for about 2 hours it felt like days had already passed. Although it was evident that the angels and himself are the more skillful combatants in the skies, the Moloks' numbers threatened to overwhelm them. The oncoming waves of Moloks seemed to be unending. Already some of his angel brethren has fallen to this onslaught.

Tyrael swerved to avoid the claws of a Molok that came too close. A flash of metal and it was the end for that demon. Tyrael had lost count of how many he had taken out but it seemed that more are spewing from the broken crater even as they turned the skies into a slaughter house.

Itherael had requested him to hold the lines for as long as possible. He had another plan to end the battle. Tyrael had not asked what the plan was. Now he hoped against hope that Itherael's plan was going smoothly. He had never seen the demons pour out in such numbers. Just before the battle started he had lost the bond to both Auriel and Imperius. That had never happened before. Things have felt desperate. They just might lose this battle.

Tyrael shook the depressing thought out of his mind and let out a war cry. He doubled his effort and sliced through the wave of oncoming Moloks. The dead winged demons dropped like flies, unable to stem Tyrael's advance. Now, more than ever before, the humans needed some assurance that their fight would not be in vain.

Underground near the crater's core, the trio of fierce female warriors broke into yet another cavern. This cavern was huge and was decorated  
differently. The walls were not roughly hewn rocks like the many that they have saw before in their push to find the portal that links to earth. It also have openings to many other tunnels or niches.

The trio stopped. Sara paused to check. "The portal is very close," she said.

There were no demons in sight.

"Watch your steps," Ginny said with her crossbow raised. "This is a trap if I ever saw one!"

The three instinctively covered each other's back as they slowly advanced towards the middle. Before they had taken 3 steps a demented snicker filled the cavern.

"Ha ha ha ha!" the fell voice boomed over them. "You are a careful bastard, demon hunter! But it makes no difference. You are already ensnared!"

"Show yourself!" Cassie demanded as her eyes swept the entire place.

"Very well," the voice said in complaince. A shadow moved at the far end and something came into view.

"Azmodan!" Ginny cried out and brought her crossbow to bear. She was about to fire when Sara's hand grabbed the crossbow firmly and forced it down.

"What the..?" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. Cassie was equally shocked when she realised that Sara had also put her other hand out in front of her to stop her actions.

"Wait!" Sara said as she stood in between Cassie and Ginny. "Scumbags like him do not simply walk into the line of fire without having a trump card hidden up their sleeves! What's your game Azmodan!"

Another wicked laugh came from the hideous creature called Azmodan. "Your looks belies the wisdom that you have in you nephalem!" he said.

"Thanks for the compliment creep!" Sara replied coldly. "Spill the bargain! I ain't got all day!"

"Very well. I shall get straight to it," Azmodan said. "Leave your artifact of power with me and I shall grant safe passage to you back to your Earth."

"Your promise is not worth crap, Azmodan!" Ginny scowled. "Let's just be done with him! He can't take all three of us together!"

"No!" Sara said firmly. "He knows that too and if he knows that why is he still standing there in the open? What's the catch demon?" Sara demanded. "Why should we not just blow you to kingdom come? Why should we take your offer?"

"Because I have these," Azmodan replied sneeringly and gestured to some unseen party.

From two openings, one on each side of Azmodan, 2 cages were pushed into the cavern. In one of them was Itherael. He looked to be bound, weak and wounded but he was conscious. In the other was a small bundle.

"Hope!" Sara cried out in surprise. "Damn you Azmodan! Release her immediately or you shall feel my wrath!"


	8. The Gamble

"Oh but that's what I intend to do right from the start," Azmodan teased. "I have no wish to test your might nephalem. Your ability to take out the archangels have proven how formidable you are in combat. I'm merely offering you the way back to your Earth. You may take your offspring with you. I have no further use of it. All I ask in return is your artifact of power. It's that simple really," Azmodan said.

"He cannot be trusted!" Cassie said. Sara held her back again by raising her hand in front of her.

"What makes you think I will just give you this artifact?" Sara said. "What makes you think that I cannot just take you down and free Hope and Itherael by myself?"

"Oh, I doubt your abilities not, nephalem!" Azmodan replied and fished out a glowing piece of crystal the size of a large apple. "This is a splinter from the Worldstone. This is the key to open the portal to your Earth. It has immense power as you can see. I have with me not just this piece. I have another piece of splinter which I have embedded deep within your Earth's surface. Near the core. If it explodes, and it will if I am not alive to stop it, it will destroy your precious Earth. So it's your choice, either you leave the artifact with me or your Earth will be destroyed!"

"Is what he says true?" Sara asked her companions. "Can this Worldstone splinter cause that much damage?"

"Yes!" Cassie quipped. "The Worldstone holds immense power! It's destruction is what demolished Mount Arreat and created this crater!"

"Detonating a splinter close to Earth's core will cause untold natural disasters to be unleashed all over the world," Sara surmised. Azmodan merely chuckled at the statement.

"How do I know that you actually have another splinter of this Worldstone as you claim, scum?" Sara retorted. "For all I know you could be bluffing through your rotted mouth!"

"Wise!" Azmodan complimented again. "I will show you then!" With that he opened a portal some 10 feet to his right. Beyond the portal was another cavern and within that cavern clearly was another glowing crystal shard. The shard was bigger than the one Azmodan held in his hands.

Azmodan then opened another portal about 10 feet to his left. Beyond this one, Sara could see Hope's bedroom. He then gestured again and the succubus that wheeled in the cages unlocked Hope's cage.

"My offer stands," Azmodan said. "Leave your artifact and you can return to your world along with your offspring. You can even retrieve the Worldstone splinter and return it to me before you go back to your home." Azmodan stepped backwards a few feet and gestured to the 2 opened portals.

"Then you leave me no choice," Sara said.

"No!" Ginny protested.

"You can't trust him!" Cassie added.

Sara held her hands out to either side to stop both of the women. "I cannot choose the destruction of my world! I have no choice but to comply with him!"

"Then you would rather sacrifice our world?" Cassie asked incredulously.

"We can take him!" Ginny said holding back her hatred towards the demon lord. "We will take him down before he can close the portals!" she said and looked over to Cassie. "Isn't that so Cassie?"

"That's right!" Cassie agreed and readied herself for battle.

"No!" Sara shouted firmly. "How many demon lords do you see here? Wasn't there another? Belial or something? Even if we take Azmodan down, won't Belial be able to set off the splinter? This is a no-win situation!"

The statement caused both Cassie and Ginny to pause to reflect. That brief moment of inattentiveness was all Sara needed. She shot out her hands and grabbed both Cassie and Ginny by the throat.

"What..?" Ginny said taken by surprise.

"Sara?" Cassie asked bewildered.

"I'm sorry gals," Sara almost whispered as she unleashed electrical current through the Witchblade. The shock cause both Ginny and Cassie to scream out in agony and then they went limp. Sara then dropped them to the ground where they fell and stayed motionless on the floor.


	9. The Saving Throw

"There!" Sara announced. "I have eliminated the threat. Now, this is my bargain to you. I will leave the artifact here but not before I put Hope back in her room. After Hope is back on her bed I shall return here. I shall then retrieve the splinter and hand them over to you along with the artifact. After which I will step through the portal to Hope's room and you shall close both portals!"

"You are wise but I am no fool!" Azmodan sneered. "You may place your Hope back in her room. After you return here, I need you to remove that artifact from your hands and leave it here. Only then you may retrieve the splinter. This is my final offer!"

Sara bit her lips. Azmodan was clearly no fool. He could sense the danger in Sara's plan. She has no other choice. The fate of planet Earth lies in here hands.

"Agreed!" Sara said bitterly.

"Proceed then," Azmodan said.

Sara went to gather Hope. She quickly checked her condition. Apart from being asleep, Hope has no other injury. Sara then placed her back onto her cot. She leaned in to give her a gentle kiss on her forehead. A tear fell from her eyes onto Hope's face and she stirred a little. Sara gently wiped it away with her hands. "Goodbye baby!" she whispered sadly. "Momma may never see you again. If that happens, I need you to grow up strong for momma, ok?"

Hope stirred again and babbled something in reply. Sara gently stroked her face before straightening up and wiping the tears from her eyes. She steeled her expression before turning back to the portal. As she stepped out into the cavern again she said, "Close the portal!"

Azmodan raised one of his eyebrows at her comment. "Really?" he asked. A question aimed more towards Sara's motives than seeking clarification.

"Do it now or you'll never get the artifact!" Sara threatened.

"As you wish," Azmodan said and the portal to Hope's room closed.

Sara glanced at Itherael in his cage and found the archangel's black hooded faceless head looking back at her. He was barely moving in his weakened state. Sara then turned and walked towards the other portal. She paused right in front of it. The shard of glowing Worldstone was about 10 feet from the portal opening. The Witchblade armor receeded and condensed into a wristwatch like shape on Sara's right hand and Sara proceeded to take it off. She then quickly threw it towards where Ginny and Cassie were slumped and stepped through the portal.

Anticipating that Azmodan will betray her, Sara sprinted for the crystal shard which started to pulse once she stepped through the portal. Her fear were not unfounded. The portal started closing the moment she stepped through. Racing desperately towards the shard, Sara grabbed it, turned and hurled it with all her strength towards the closing portal.

"Itherael!" Sara yelled as the shard passed through the portal before it closed completely leaving Sara in pitch black darkness.

Azmodan had started to run towards the Witchblade when he saw the Worldstone shard whizzing past the almost closed portal. With a horrified look on his face Azmodan shouted, "No! That's impossible!" He then tried to run away from the pulsing crystal.

Itherael summoned all his remaining strength and projected a small portal in the shard's flight path. The pulsating crystal flew right into it and  
disappeared. Itherael slumped to the cage floor, sapped of all his strength.

Azmodan was caught unaware for a moment. The shard was gone. To where he did not know nor care as long as its not going to blow up in his face. Then he remembered the Witchblade and he ran towards it. He was halted in this endeavor too as the Witchblade began to move on its own accord.

Tendrils snaked up and went towards both Cassie and Ginny. The Witchblade wrapped itself around the two motionless figure and formed armor on them. Both Cassie and Ginny awoke and got up. Ginny bore the red crystal part of the Witchblade while Cassie had the blue crystal part.

"What in the hells just happened?" Cassie asked, disoriented for a while.

"Whoa! There's something in my head!" Ginny said.

Azmodan halted and started to retreat to make a getaway. Itherael shouted, "Quick! There's no time! Let the Witchblade guide you!"

Both Ginny and Cassie stopped fighting the presence in their minds and the Witchblade filled in the gaps of what happened when they were out cold. They exchanged knowing glances after a few seconds and went into action.

Cassie disappeared in a flash of light as she teleported away while Ginny grabbed her crossbow and quickly shot a bolt at the retreating Azmodan. The bolt caught the Lord of Sin in the shoulders and he dropped his shard of the Worldstone and howled out in pain. He hesistated to pick it up but the fast approaching demon hunter in Witchblade armor decided things for him and he beat a hasty retreat through one of the tunnels leading out.

Ginny quickly picked up the shard and then shot two bolts in quick succession to dispatch of the 2 succubus in the cavern. She then ran towards Itherael and busted him out of the cage.

"Sit tight!" she said and held her hands inches away from Itherael's face.

Itherael could feel some form of energy radiating from the clawed hand covered in the Witchblade's metallic-organic armor. He found his strength returning. "I hope Cassie made it in time," he said.


	10. The Tide Turns

Meanwhile at Bastion Keep.

Tyrael was beginning to tire. The swarm of Moloks seemed to pour forth unabated. He had already lost half his angel army. The ground forces were not doing too good either. The human defenders are about to have their lines broken through.

"Damn!" Tyrael thought as he slashed his sword high and low, cutting through the demonic swarm. Itherael had asked him to be on the lookout for a sign that he will send to the battlefield but so far he had seen none. "Come on Itherael, we're not going to last much longer!" he muttered.

Then it happened. A flash of light and a small portal opened a little ways above and in the middle the demonic ground forces. Tyrael knew this was it. This was the sign from Itherael.

"Fall back!" he yelled out. His voice boomed over the entire battlefield as he used magic to enhance it. "Fall back and away from the portal!" he  
commanded as he turned back towards the Keep. The angels fighting in the air followed suit and then the humans turned back.

A small glowing object fell through the portal as it closed and before it hit the ground it exploded voilently. The shockwave slammed Tyrael to the ground. He rolled to break the fall and then braced himself up against the force of the explosion. He saw many of the angels were similarly thrown to the ground. He knew this energy that was released. He had felt it before. The last time he was caught in a similar explosion, it almost killed him. Took him close to two decades to recover from it. The Worldstone.

When the dust finally settled, he saw that most of the demonic ground forces were decimated in the explosion. The rest that survived were scattered across the battlefield in isolated groups. When the humans saw this a thunderous cheer erupted from their ranks and they rallied. Their morale boosted they headed in to wipe out the remaining ground forces.

Tyrael then shifted his attention skywards. While the demons on the ground caught the brunt of the explosion, the flying Moloks largely came through unscathed. A small portion was caught in the explosion but the rest was unharmed although disoriented for a while but now they are regrouping. With death coming from above, the human forces won't stand a chance.

"My angel brethren!" Tyrael shouted again. "To the sky once more! Let's end this battle once and for all!" he commanded but he knew their numbers are not enough to repel the Moloks. He had to buy the humans as much time as they could to eradicate the demons on the ground so that they could turn their focus on the Moloks.

As he rose with his remaining army another flash appeared in the skies. It was no crystal that materialized but a strange figure. A female figure clad in a strange metallic armor that covered her whole body and it had wings. The female then transformed into a being of energy that glowed orange. The archon. Tyrael recognized that it was a form some high level human wizards could achieve.

The archon was none other than Cassie. She stretched out her hands and blasted a huge ray of energy forth. The beam stretched from where she was to as far as the crater. She swept it from left to right and began to mop the Moloks out from the sky. This went on for about 2 minutes. The beam effectively cleansed the sky of the Moloks' threat. Cassie could not believe her own eyes. The Witchblade had increased her archon's power exponentially.

When she finished, the skies were now clear. The Molok swarm has been effectively routed. Cassie herself was drained. She started to fall from the sky, the Witchblade armor had also receeded to become like a bracelet on her left hand. Tyrael saw her falling and dashed towards her. He caught her before she hit the ground.

"Oh.. thank you!" Cassie managed weakly as Tyrael's strong arms halted her descend.

"No milady! We should thank you!" Tyrael replied and landed her gently on the ground to joyous cheers from both the humans and angel soldiers. The battle was over. They had miraculously prevailed.

Back inside the cavern...

"Whoa! That was weird!" she said all of a sudden as she pressed a hand to her temple.

"What is it?" Itherael said as he got up feeling mostly recovered from his wounds.

"Some voice in my head told me that Cassie had made it. The demon army has been routed," she said staring incredulously at Itherael.

"This Witchblade is very interesting," Itherael commented. "And very powerful!"

"Now that we know Sanctuary will be free of the terror reign of the Lords of the Burning Hells, we should go retrieve the savior of Earth," Itherael said as a matter of fact. "Please hand me that shard of the Worldstone," Itherael requested.

Ginny handed him the crystal and he did some incantations and a portal opened. Beyond the portal they found Sara huddled in a fetal position with tears in her eyes. Ginny quickly ran forward and embraced Sara.

"It's alright now," Ginny reassured Sara as she held tightly to her sobbing.

"Thank God!" Sara said relieved. "I thought I was gonna die here all alone in complete darkness deep inside the earth! Thank God you came!" Sara sobbed.

"Shhh..," Ginny cooed soothingly. "It's alright now. I've got you. I've got you."

It was a few minutes before Sara could regain enough composure to walk through the portal. Itherael closed it and summoned another portal which opened to Hope's room. Without prompting Sara ran towards her baby, picked her up and held her tight. Tears streamed down her cheeks again.

"Rest now, human Sara," Itherael said from beyond the portal. "We shall meet again after you have rested. We will tie up all the loose ends then. Goodbye for now and thank you," Itherael said as he closed the portal leaving Sara with her baby in private.


	11. Balance Maintained

*** Author's note ***

This is the last part! I know it's a bit cheesy but what the heck!

Hoped you all enjoyed the story. Would greatly appreciate some feedback or comments or reviews!

Thanks once again for reading!

**** End of author's note ***

Two days later.

Sara was back in Sanctuary and she was again inside the Halls of Valor. This time instead of an intruder, Sara was the guest of honor. Itherael was there and so was Tyrael, Auriel and Imperius. The archangels of Hope and Valor had recovered from their wounds. Cassie and Ginny were there too. There was much merry making and swapping of stories of what happened just 2 days ago.

"That was a very big gamble you took there Itherael," Ginny said when they learnt that it was Itherael that had plotted his own capture to lure Azmodan to come out in the open like that.

"I am not called the Archangel of Fate for nothing," he replied. "Through the streams of Fate, I saw that Azmodan will betray Sara in all possible outcomes. That he will detonate the Worldstone splinter was an event that will come to pass no matter what. The only question was where will it detonate. We decided that it would be most appropriate to let the demonic army shoulder the brunt of the explosion."

"Well you could have warned us earlier," Cassie complained good naturedly. "When Sara zapped me, I thought I was dead!"

"You were close to death," Sara said smiling. "It had to appear believable to Azmodan or he would not take the bait. I had to make sure Hope got home safely first. Of course I had full knowledge that the Witchblade would heal you up nicely. Anyway, it was helpful that both of you are attractive ladies so it was easy to convince the Witchblade to take you both as temporary hosts. The Witchblade, despite its name, is a male element you know?"

"What?" Cassie remarked incredulously. "I have been molested! The thing was all over me and it ripped up my robes!" Laughter followed that  
comment.

"Well I'm glad I'm rid of it for one," Ginny chipped in. "I do not like things messing with my head!" she continued eyeing the Witchblade which was now fully whole again on Sara's right hand. She then turned towards Itherael. "Hey! I thought you could only see the Fate of Sanctuary! How did you know that Sara will be able to chuck the piece of Worldstone back here from Earth before the portal closed?"

"I did not," Itherael admitted. "I could not see what fate will befall Earth. Sara will have to take credit for all that she has done when she stepped through that portal. That is why all of us here have to thank Sara for saving Sanctuary and Earth with that toss. If she had missed.. I do not want to think what would have happened. Suffice to say it would have doomed 2 worlds."

All eyes fell on Sara after Itherael's remarks. "I was lucky I guess," Sara shrugged it off. She glanced at Itherael and although she could not see his face under that hood, she knew that he was looking right back at her and she knew what look would be there had there been a face. Saying that it was luck was the understatement of the century. Both Sara and Itherael knew that they had been very, very, very lucky indeed.

As the evening ended, it was time for goodbyes. Itherael opened up the portal again with the Worldstone shard. Sara stepped through it and turned around to face her friends one last time.

"I guess this is it," Sara said finally. "It has been an honor fighting by your side," she said not knowing what else to say. How do you say goodbye forever? On the other side both Ginny and Cassie smiled.

"The honor was ours!" the said in unison and laughed at each other after that.

"Farewell Sara," Itherael said. "We will not be meeting again. It's for the best. The Balance belongs on Earth. Thank you again for saving Sanctuary."

Sara merely nodded with a smile on her face. Itherael held up the shard he was holding and with a spell crushed it into dust and let the ashes fall. The portal closed and Sara found herself staring at the wall in Hope's room. With a heavy sigh she turned around and watched Hope sleeping peacefully in her cot.

"I guess it's back to our normal life," Sara said quietly. "That is if you can call being the Host to the Witchblade as normal!" She kissed Hope on the forehead and headed to the door. She opened it quietly, walked through and closed it again behind her just as quietly.

THE END


End file.
